AHSAA STATE SEMIS: Catholic boys, Carver girls move into championship round

Catholic’s Matthew Reardon guards Winfield’s Logan Feltman in Monday’s Class 3A state semifinal game in Birmingham. (Tim Gayle)

By TIM GAYLE

BIRMINGHAM – There was a different cast of characters on the floor for Catholic in the first half of the Knights’ 3A semifinal matchup with Winfield, but one thing never changed.

The Knights continued to play their brand of defense, shutting down the interior and challenging the Pirates’ perimeter shooters.

“We said we were going to run them off the 3-point line and I thought we did a good job,” Catholic coach Mike Curry said. “They had some open looks, but the game plan was to run them off the 3-point line. We couldn’t let them stand out there and shoot the 3. I don’t know if we affected them that much -- they may have just not had a good shooting night -- but that was a point of emphasis.”

The Pirates continued to fire blanks from the perimeter, missing all 18 3-point attempts, and Catholic returned to form in the second half on the way to a 76-46 win at Bill Harris Arena on Monday afternoon.

Catholic (21-5) will play Fyffe for the 3A state championship at Bill Harris Arena on Friday at 11:30 a.m., playing in the title game for the first time since winning back-to-back state championships in 1999 and 2000.

“We kind of had a chip on our shoulder from the beginning, to come back and go farther than we did last year,” guard Matthew Reardon said. “I think that played a big role in our work over the summer and through practice. For me personally, my uncle (Ben Reardon) has the two rings that Catholic won, so I’m trying to go get me one.” 

It was Reardon early, with help from Myles Butler and later from Isaiah Kindle and Ethan Binns, that ruined the Pirates’ game plan by hitting 3s. As the Pirates struggled with turnovers and missed 3 pointers in the second quarter, the Knights were pushing the tempo, taking a 31-18 halftime lead with Butler on the bench in foul trouble and LJ Green on the bench in favor of TJ Dudley at the point, Binns and Jalen Thomas and Reardon on the wings and DJ Jamerson in the paint.

 “We got off to a decent start, but hats off to Montgomery Catholic,” Winfield coach Zac Wakefield said. “Great team, well coached. Coming in, we were going to let them shoot some 3s. We’ve played fast all year, but against them, we wanted to slow it down and make them hit some 3s outside. We felt if we had to get outside and pressure them, they would kill us on the boards.”

Green and Butler returned in the third quarter and the Catholic strategy shifted slightly as the Knights began working the ball inside to Jamerson on the offensive end and Jamerson and Dudley dominated the glass on the defensive end.

“Every day when we break it down at the end of practice, we say ‘team’ and I think today was evidence of that, that we have a team and not a one-man show or a two-man show,” Curry said. “We had multiple guys contribute. It was a total team effort today.” 

Jamerson finished with 19 points, 10 rebounds and three blocked shots, followed by Reardon with 18 points and five rebounds, Butler with 14 points and Dudley with seven points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

Logan Feltman led Winfield (26-9) with 19 points and 13 rebounds, followed by Graham Bradford with 15 points and seven assists.

Monday’s win was the 16th consecutive victory for Catholic, putting the Knights back in the finals for the first time since winning the 2A title over Section in 2000. Last year’s team made the school’s third trip to the state tournament but lost to Talladega in the 4A semifinals. G.W. Carver 41, Chelsea 28

Carver girls top Chelsea

BIRMINGHAM -- Carver took advantage of a cold-shooting Chelsea team to run away with a 41-28 victory in the 6A girls semifinals at UAB’s Bartow Arena on Monday afternoon.

The Wolverines (15-7) held Chelsea to 12 percent shooting from the floor, including just three field goals in the second half, to advance to the 6A state championship game on Wednesday against Hazel Green (34-1) at Bartow Arena at 9 a.m.

Carver trailed 10-8 at the end of the first quarter, but Breanna Rhodes scored 10 of her 18 points in the second quarter as the Wolverines pulled away to a 10-point lead.

“We came out a little sluggish, but once we realized we didn’t want to go home and we needed to work together, it all came together,” Rhodes said.

At that point, Carver’s taller lineup kept Chelsea from mounting any type of offensive threat the remainder of the game. 

“I try to use that (height) to our advantage, make sure we are in the paint, clogging the paint and making sure we are running out to the 3-point line and running them off their shot,” Carver coach Adria Harris said. “I think what really helps us is we communicate well on defense.”

Sophia Brown and Mackenzie Titus led Chelsea with seven points each. Chelsea hit just 8 of 40 shots and 2 of 17 from the 3-point arc while managing just 20 rebounds in the game, a formula that resulted in an 0 for 12 shooting performance in the third quarter and just 3 of 9 in the final period.

“I thought defensively we were strong at times,” Chelsea coach Jason Harlow said. “Shots didn’t fall. And that’s a credit to them. Carver did a good job defensively.”